The  Bible  as 
a  Social  Force 


American  Bible  Society 

Bible  House,  Astor  Place 
New  York 


AMERICAN  BIBLE  SOCIETY 

Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York 


President 

James  Wood,  Esq. 

Corresponding  Secretaries 

Rev.  John  Pox,  D.D.,  LL.D.  Rev.  William  Ingraham  Haven,  D.D. 

Recording  Secretary  Acting  Recording  Secretary 

Rev.  Henry  Otis  Dwight,  LL.D.  Rev.  Henry  J.  Scudder,  B.D. 

Treasurer 

William  Fodlke. 


Home  Agencies 

EV.  J.  P.  WRAGG,  D.D.,  Colored  People  of  the  South,  35  Gammon 
Ave.,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

REV.  S.  H.  KIRKBRIDE,  D.D.,  Northwestern  Agency,  McCormick 
Building,  332  South  Michigan  Ave.,  Chicago,  Ill. 

Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan, Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Nebraska, 
North  Dakota,  and  South  Dakota. 

REV.  M.  B.  PORTER,  South  Atlantic  Agency,  205  North  5th  Street, 
Richmond,  Va. 

Virginia,  West  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
and  Florida. 

REV.  ARTHUR  F.  RAGATZ,  Western  Agency,  216-218  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Building,  Denver,  Colo. 

Missouri,  Kansas,  Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana,  Utah,  Wyoming, 
New  Mexico,  and  Arizona. 

REV.  A.  WESLEY  MELL,  Pacific  Agency,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building,  200-210 
Golden  Gate  Avenue,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

California,  Nevada,  Oregon,  and  Washington. 

REV.  J.  J.  MORGAN,  Southwestern  Agency,  1815)4  Main  Street,  Dallas, 
Texas. 

Texas,  Oklahoma,  Louisiana,  and  Arkansas. 

REV.  WM.  H.  TOWER,  Eastern  Agency,  137  Montague  Street,  Brook¬ 
lyn,  N.  Y. 

New  York  State  and  adjacent  regions  not  otherwise  cared  for. 

REV.  GEORGE  S.  J.  BROWNE,  D.D.,  Central  Agency,  424  Elm 
Street,  Cincinnati,  O. 

Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi. 

REV.  LEIGHTON  W.  ECKARD,  D.D.,  Atlantic  Agency,  701  Walnut 
Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware. 


Foreign  Agencies 

Levant  Agency  :  Bible  House,  Constantinople,  Turkey.  La  Plata 
Agency  :  Casilla  de  Correo  304,  Lavalle  1467,  Buenos  Ayres,  Argentina. 
Japan  Agency  :  Yokohama.  China  Agency  :  14  Kiukiang  Road,  Shang¬ 
hai.  Brazil  Agency  :  Caixa,  454,  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Mexico  Agency  :  Box 
1373,  Mexico  City.  Korea  Agency  :  Seoul.  West  Indies  Agency  :  1761 
Brooklyn  Avenue,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Siam  Agency:  Bangkok,  Siam. 
Central  America  and  Panama  Agency  :  Guatemala  City,  Guatemala. 
Philippines  Agency  :  Manila.  Venezuela  Agency  :  Caracas,  Venezuela. 

Sand  contributions  to  WILLIAM  FOULKE,  Treasurer, 

American  Bible  Society,  Bible  House,  Astor  Place,  New  York. 


The  Bible  as  a  Social 

Force 

Common  Sense  at  a  Coal  Mine 

a  certain  coal  mine  the  operators 
bewailed  their  lot.  Every  Monday 
brought  an  output  less  by  ten  per  cent  than 
that  of  other  days.  Worse  yet,  the  output  of 
the  Monday  after  pay-day  was  twenty  per 
cent  less  than  the  normal  rate.  Money  in 
the  men’s  pockets  meant  facilities  for  wilder 
dissipation  in  the  holiday  hours.  Perfectly 
well  known  to  the  operators  are  the  causes  of 
this  inefficiency.  The  laborer  is  to  blame. 
Without  foresight  he  carouses  while  his 
money  lasts.  But  the  mine  owners,  pitying 
themselves,  did  not  once  think  of  kindly  talk¬ 
ing  to  these  careless,  discredited  laborers 
about  the  way  to  manly  efficiency  tested  under 
all  possible  conditions,  and  outlined  with  con¬ 
crete  illustrations  in  the  Bible. 

Some  young  men  who  were  believers  in  the 
practical  quality  of  Bible  rules  of  life  came 
along.  They  were  willing  to  deny  themselves 
for  the  sake  of  the  ignorant  and  careless 
miner.  They  took  time  for  friendly  approach 
to  the  sturdy  fellow  with  the  idea  of  making 
clear  to  him  the  lasting  value  of  sober  self- 
control.  It  was  not  long  before  many  work¬ 
men  spent  Sundays  in  a  Bible  class  instead 
of  a  barroom.  The  mine  owners  hailed  this 
kindly  Christian  service  with  delight;  with 
something  of  a  shock,  however,  for  they  were 
churchgoing  people,  they  began  to  perceive 

that  such  kindly  ministrations,  as  well  as  their 

3 


fruit,  spring  from  the  injunctions  of  the  Bible 
as  certainly  as  harvest  from  seed. 

The  Social  Conscience  Found 

As  if  announcing  a  new  discovery,  some  of 
our  captains  of  industry  have  now  begun  to 
declare  that  friendly  co-operation  is  the  only 
solution  of  difficulties  which  arise  between 
employer  and  employee.  “Personal  inter¬ 
course  and  sympathy,”  says  a  recent  maga¬ 
zine  writer,  “is  the  medium  of  that  subtle 
something,  which,  though  it  has  no  place  in 
the  records  of  industry,  has  been  the  basis  of 
industry’s  greatest  achievements.”  “That 
subtle  something”  is  merely  the  plain  Bible 
rule  of  regard  for  the  needs,  rights,  and 
welfare  of  others  embodied  in  the  law, 
“  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.” 
On  the  grimy  bench  of  industry,  in  the 
directors’  council-chamber,  in  the  street, 
the  mart,  the  cozy  home,  the  best  achieve¬ 
ment  waits  upon  conscience  sensitized  by  that 
law. 

The  Fitness  of  the  Bible  to  Guide  a  Life 

The  Bible  is  a  treasure  house  of  the  ex¬ 
periences  of  men  in  all  varieties  of  relations 
with  others.  Its  records  of  triumph  and  fail¬ 
ure  can  aid  those  who  suffer  through  so¬ 
cial  complications.  Yet  this  unique  feature 
of  the  Bible  is  often  unrecognized.  Peering 
more  deeply  into  this  feature  of  the  Bible 
one  sees  the  foundation  of  its  teaching  on 
social  morality  to  be  that  love  to  God  and 
sense  of  his  love  to  all  men  which  controls 
desire  and  by  his  help  expels  the  demon 
selfishness,  author  of  all  the  anarchies  of  the 
race. 


4 


The  One  Key  to  Social  Problems 

One  course  of  conduct  followed  steadfastly 
brings  peace  into  social  relations.  This  is 
careful  copying  of  Jesus  Christ  in  devotion, 
unselfishness,  and  beneficence.  Individuals, 
families,  nations,  races,  can  be  and  are  being 
united  in  interest  and  aim  through  a  common 
loyalty  to  Jesus  Christ.  The  brotherhood 
which  the  Bible  pictures  in  the  life  and  words 
of  Jesus  Christ  completes  all  virtues.  That 
Christian  brotherly  love  is  long-sufifering  in 
patience ;  it  abolishes  envy,  self-assertion, 
and  arrogance ;  it  permits  no  discourtesy ;  it 
does  not  insist  upon  its  rights ;  it  does  not 
take  umbrage  and  brood  over  the  injustice  of 
others ;  it  is  glad  to  see  the  good,  and  does 
not  count  up  the  faults  of  others  ,*  in  short,  it 
believes  in  men,  it  bears,  it  hopes,  it  endures, 
and  withal  it  never  fails  in  times  of  stress. 
Sincere  care  for  the  needs  of  others  is  the 
key  to  all  social  problems.  It  is  so  rare  as 
to  be  the  Holy  Grail  for  searchers  of  the 
twentieth  century.  The  great  mystery  of  suc¬ 
cess  of  the  quest  is  the  mystery  of  hearts 
purified  from  self-seeking  through  the  love 
of  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave  himself  up  that 
men  here  and  now  may  live  as  dwellers  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  live.  The  one  guide¬ 
book  for  the  searcher  is  the  Bible. 

Some  Practical  Illustrations 

The  Bible  is  a  social  force  because  it  seri¬ 
ously,  persuasively,  continuously  calls  upon 
men  to  bear  one  another’s  burdens,  and  so 
fulfill  the  law  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  harmonizes 
conflicting  interests  and  reconstructs  the  social 
organism  by  cultivating  a  new  sense — a  state 


of  heart  that  is  as  sensitive  to  discords  as 
the  ear  of  a  musician,  and  is  content  only 
when  in  harmony  with  the  great  laws  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God.  This  tendency  of  the 
Bible  teachings  is  abundantly  illustrated  by 
the  experiences  of  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciefT* 

Occupied  with  increasing  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible,  this  Society  is  in  contact  with  men 
of  divers  races,  of  many  tongues,  of  all  de¬ 
grees  of  social  development.  The  briefest 
notes  from  its  records  show  the  Bible  in 
action  working  for  good-will  and  peace  among 
nations  by  changing  the  basis  of  the  mutual 
relations  of  individuals. 

The  Result  Comes  We  Know  Not  How 

Wherever  the  seed  of  the  Kingdom  is  scat¬ 
tered  “the  earth  beareth  fruit  of  itself.”  In 
every  land  it  reaches  some  who  seem  to  have 
been  prepared  beforehand  to  receive  and  ap¬ 
preciate  the  written  Word. 

In  1912  a  fire-worshiper  in  Persia  came  to 
the  missionaries  in  Teheran  asking  baptism. 
He  had  journeyed  sixty  days  for  the  purpose. 
He  was  a  truly  converted  man,  Christian  in 
character  and  in  purpose,  although  he  had 
never  heard  Christian  teaching.  All  that  he 
knew  about  Christianity  had  been  gathered 
from  study  of  a  Bible  dropped  in  Persia  by 
the  Bible  Society,  which  had  somehow  fallen 
into  his  hands.  In  a  case  like  this  of  the 
Zoroastrian  the  strange  new  development 
certainly  has  likeness  to  the  growth  of  a 
seed  in  fertile  soil.  We  know  not  how ;  but 
it  grows  ! 

A  Mohammedan  in  Bitlis,  Turkey,  took  up 

6 


one  of  our  colporteur’s  Bibles  last  year,  say¬ 
ing  :  “I  love  this  book.  Two  years  I  bought 
a  copy.  All  our  villagers  love  it  and  love  to 
hear  me  read  it.”  Some  vague  craving  in 
that  man’s  heart  was  satisfied  by  the  Bible, 
although  we  are  assured  that  it  is  impossible 
for  a  Mohammedan  ever  to  accept  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  New  Mexico  in  1853  Don  Ambrosio 
Gonzalez,  a  Roman  Catholic,  received  a  gift 
of  a  Spanish  Bible  from  a  missionary  at  Santa 
Fe.  Reading  the  book  made  him  what  he  has 
been  these  many  years — a  teacher  of  the  evan¬ 
gelical  faith.  He  says:  “It  was  the  first 
Bible  I  had  ever  seen.  When  the  rest  of  the 
family  had  gone  to  bed,  I  read  nearly  the 
whole  of  Genesis.  Then  I  turned  to  the  New 
Testament  and  read  several  chapters  of  St. 
John’s  Gospel.  It  was  a  new  book.  I  read 
until  the  chickens  began  to  hail  the  new  day. 
I  lay  down  on  a  lounge  and  went  to  sleep. 
When  I  awoke  the  sun  was  shining  on  my 
face.  The  Sun  of  Righteousness  was  shin¬ 
ing  brightly  in  my  soul!”  Several  besides 
Don  Ambrosio  received  Bibles  that  day ;  his 
eyes  only  were  free  from  fog  and  saw  the 
truth. 

Some  of  every  race  appreciate  the  Bible 
because  it  opens  a  scheme  of  life  as  suited  to 
their  deepest  needs  as  if  written  for  them 
alone. 

Obedience  to  the  Bible  Means  Social  Uplift 

Never  can  a  man  go  back  to  ignorance,  even 
if  he  does  not  accept  the  Bible,  after  reading 
its  verses  which  condemn  the  telling  of  lies, 
stealing,  defrauding,  oppression  of  the  poor, 

7 


intemperance,  or  debauchery.  He  may  refuse 
to  heed  his  conscience,  but  the  self-evident 
truth  is  always  there  to  plague  him  for  falling 
below  the  high  plane  of  life  revealed  by  the 
book.  In  Minnesota  a  colporteur  of  the  Bible 
Society  last  year  went  to  a  home  where  hus¬ 
band,  wife,  and  oldejr  daughter  were  habitual 
drunkards.  It  was  a  fearful  home.  He  talked 
with  the  mother  and  gave  her  a  Bible.  When 
the  father  came  home  the  younger  daughter 
showed  him  the  Bible  and  said  she  was  going 
to  wrap  it  up  and  put  it  away.  Strangely 
enough  the  father  said,  “No,  the  book  shall 
lie  on  the  table  and  be  read.”  The  mother 
began  to  read  it,  and  finally  changed  her  whole 
habit  of  life  so  that  she  is  the  wonder  of  the 
neighborhood.  The  atmosphere  of  that  home 
has  been  made  healthful  by  the  influence  of 
the  Book. 

A  Korean  opium-eater,  broken  down,  de¬ 
graded,  without  mental  stamina,  was  given  a 
Gospel  by  an  agent  of  the  Bible  Society  and 
was  told  that  in  it  is  truth  which  can  set  men 
free.  A  Christian  Korean  often  visited  him 
to  help  him  understand  what  he  read.  The 
result  was  determination  to  seek  the  help  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  In  time  the  man  thus 
broke  the  chains  of  habit  and  gained  a  com¬ 
plete  renewal  of  efficiency  and  strength.  The 
forces  of  good  in  the  community  gained  a 
worthy  unit. 

A  Slovenian  in  Joliet,  Ill.,  two  years  ago  was 
a  drunken,  quarrelsome  fellow  who  had  tried 
to  kill  his  own  father,  who  could  talk  seven 
languages  and  read  ten,  but  knew  only  “swear 
words  ”  in  English.  The  gospel  injunctions 

got  hold  of  him  and  he  was  genuinely  con- 

8 


verted.  He  had  been  discharged  for  fighting 
his  fellow-laborers.  Now  as  a  peacemaker 
he  is  invaluable  to  his  employers.  He  has 
taken  charge  of  a  Presbyterian  mission  to 
Slavic  workmen  in  Joliet.  In  January  there 
were  twelve  conversions  in  that  mission. 
Wherever  the  Bible  reveals  Jesus  Christ  dark¬ 
ness  is  changed  to  light;  true  values  in  life 
are  made  clear. 

The  Bible  Estimate  of  Man  is  Contagious 

A  curious  fact  of  social  development  is  its 
absence  among  those  who  habitually  scorn 
Scripture  rules  of  virtue.  Such  seem  careless 
of  the  number  of  lives  they  blight  or  destroy. 
The  buttresses  of  our  benevolent,  charitable, 
and  reformatory  enterprises  are  people  who 
rate  men  and  their  rights  by  Bible  standards. 
A  man  named  Ishii  of  Yokomachi  in  Japan 
received  a  Gospel  from  a  missionary.  He 
read  it  thoughtfully  and  was  amazed  at  its 
teachings.  He  had  to  tell  his  friends  about  it. 
Later  he  read  the  whole  New  Testament,  and 
thus  became  an  earnest  Christian.  He  has 
won  a  score  of  others  to  study  the  Way,  and 
the  men  of  Yokomachi  are  begging  for  some¬ 
one  to  teach  them  more  fully.  Thus  the  one 
Gospel  has  had  fruit  in  a  stronghold  of  Bud¬ 
dhism  where  no  preacher  has  ever  taught. 

A  ranchman  near  Kennedy,  Texas,  was  per¬ 
suaded  by  the  Bible  Society  Agent  to  give 
Gospels  in  Spanish  to  his  Mexican  farm-hands. 
One  of  these  laborers,  a  Roman  Catholic,  af¬ 
terward  came  and  got  some  more  Scriptures 
for  his  mates.  His  reading  of  these  Scrip¬ 
tures  led  to  his  making  it  a  neighborly  duty 

to  teach  gospel  truth  to  all  whom  he  met. 

9 


The  interest  thus  started  spread  until  three 
evangelical  churches  have  grown  oup  of  that 
distribution  of  Spanish  Gospels  on  the  Texan 
ranch. 

The  contrast  is  sharp  between  such  eager¬ 
ness  to  help  one’s  neighbors  and  the  normal 
spirit  of  self-seeking  that  keeps  communities 
in  turmoil. 

At  Goldfield,  Nev.,  a  colporteur  of  the  Bible 
Society  met  a  man  with  blackened  face  and 
hands,  and  wearing  a  leathern  apron,  who  had 
been  an  arson  fiend  and  a  murderer.  This 
man,  who  worked  in  the  mines,  frankly  said, 
“I  ought  to  be  in  the  penitentiary;  that  is 
where  I  belong.”  But  he  bought  fifteen  dol¬ 
lars’  worth  of  Scriptures  from  the  colporteur. 
On  inquiry  it  was  found  that  he  had  made  his 
hut  a  refuge  to  any  who  were  “down  and 
out”;  and  he  wished  to  put  God’s  message, 
which  had  changed  his  whole  life,  into  the 
hands  of  every  homeless,  friendless  outcast 
as  a  cure  for  vicious  habits.  Such  a  man  in  a 
mining  camp  becomes  the  nucleus  of  a  social 
revolution  through  the  unfailing  sympathy 
with  which  he  offers  a  remedy  for  bad  blood 
and  brutality. 

Plain  Selfishness  Alone  Opposes  Bible 

Teachings 

The  emphasis  placed  in  these  illustrations 
upon  the  Bible  as  adapted  to  men’s  needs,  as 
inevitably  lifting  ideals,  as  establishing  fellow¬ 
ship  where  it  was  unknown,  represents  first 
steps  only  in  a  new  order  of  life.  Seeing  the 
distance  yet  to  be  traversed,  men  who  have 
not  tried  them  tell  us  that  nevertheless  the  in¬ 
junctions  of  the  Bible  are  both  needless  and 

10 


impracticable.  Such  rules  will  not  work  in  a 
world  like  ours.  So  in  times  past  we  have 
heard  that  it  will  not  work  for  men  to  be  hon¬ 
est  in  trade,  to  be  temperate,  to  be  pure  in 
life  and  thought,  to  keep  cool  when  exasper¬ 
ated,  or  to  refuse  to  fight  duels.  “It  will  not 
work”  was  the  devil’s  suggestion  in  Eden, 
and  it  is  his  suggestion  everywhere  to-day. 
This  is  a  lie.  Selfishness  is  the  one  thing 
that  “will  not  work”  in  matters  of  social  re¬ 
form.  It  is  rooted  in  the  heart  and  hides  it¬ 
self  in  the  garments  of  virtue.  It  explodes 
like  a  dynamite  bomb  where  least  expected, 
blowing  to  pieces  theories  of  social  regener¬ 
ation  which  the  world  has  tried  to  make  prac¬ 
ticable.  The  ground  is  strewn  with  hope¬ 
less  wrecks  of  “  communities  ”  and  “broth¬ 
erhoods,”  by  which  we  all  remember  social 
reformers  who  went  to  their  task  without 
knowledge  of  the  grounds  of  reform. 

Surrender  to  Jesus  Christ  the  Remedy 

The  only  principle  that  can  advance  the  com¬ 
munity  toward  the  social  ideal  is  surrender, 
one  by  one,  of  its  individual  members  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Christianity  is  acceptance  of  Christ 
as  Lord  and  Master.  “To  as  many  as  re¬ 
ceived  him,”  says  St.  John,  “to  them  gave 
he  the  right  to  become  the  children  of  God.” 
How?  Jesus  Christ  performs  the  miracle  of 
recasting  the  desires  and  aims  of  men  in  such 
fashion  that  he  rules  them  in  a  spirit  of 
selfishness. 

A  Concrete  Illustration 

A  concrete  illustration  of  the  method  and 
quality  of  this  miracle  is  given  by  Dr.  George 

Heber  Jones  in  a  recent  article  on  the  Trans¬ 
it 


formation  of  Korea.  He  says:  “The  Bible 
is  present  in  Korea  in  the  spirit  and  life 
of  an  ever-increasing  number  of  the  Korean 
people.  It  is  in  the  hearts  of  the  Christians ; 
they  know  its  message  and  honor  and  value 
it — they  determine  their  own  life  latitude  and 
longitude  by  the  degree  to  which  they  are  suc¬ 
cessful  in  translating  its  truths  into  conduct.” 
People  who  have  advanced  to  this  degree 
have  some  at  least  of  the  qualities  of  the  chil¬ 
dren  of  God.  “What  is  such  a  spiritual  Chris¬ 
tian  worth  to  a  community?  Is  not  his  char¬ 
acter  a  valuable  asset  of  society,  his  example 
a  power  for  good,  his  kindness  of  heart  a  bene¬ 
faction,  his  zeal  for  Christ  a  leaven  in  the 
social  lump,  his  whole  life  an  evangel?” 

The  Social  Efficiency  of  the  Bible  Tells  among 

all  Races 

So  many  virtues  spring  in  our  own  land 
from  widely  disseminated  Bible  principles 
that  many  people  blissfully  suppose  these 
virtues  inborn.  Let  such  complacent  people 
contrast  their  state  with  that  of  their  ancestors 
or  of  peoples  still  untouched  by  the  Bible. 
Half  of  the  population  of  the  world  to-day 
grovel  and  cringe  in  the  darkness  like  owls  in 
daylight.  In  their  fellow-men  they  see  none 
but  enemies  awaiting  opportunity.  God  they 
know  only  as  an  angry  being  who  gloats  over 
the  punishment  of  sins.  In  their  religion  is 
no  ray  of  light,  in  their  hearts  is  no  hope  until 
they  find  it  in  the  Bible,  v 

What  men  owe  to  the  Bible,  people  who 
have  lived  in  darkness  discover  as  soon  as 
they  open  it.  Japanese  immigrants  on  the 

Pacific  coast  are  so  convinced  that  the  Bible 

12 


has  the  secret  of  development  that  they  have 
organized  a  “  Dendo  Dan,”  or  evangelistic 
society.  This  society  is  trying  to  take  the 
Scriptures  furnished  by  the  American  Bible 
Society  to  every  Japanese  wayfarer  in  the 
Coast  states.  Look  over  to  Central  Europe. 
In  a  Roman  Catholic  village  not  far  from 
Prague  in  Bohemia  a  colporteur  of  the  Bible 
Society  persuaded  a  man  and  his  wife  to  read 
the  Bible.  After  some  time  he  chanced  that 
way  again  and  called  at  the  cottage  where  he 
had  left  the  book.  The  wife  watched  her  op¬ 
portunity  to  speak  to  the  colporteur  alone. 
She  said  with  gladness  in  her  voice,  “  You 
have  no  idea  how  much  better  my  husband 
has  been  since  he  began  to  read  the  Bible.” 
By  and  by  the  husband  took  the  colporteur 
aside  and  said,  “  My  wife  has  changed  ever 
so  much  for  the  better  since  she  took  up  Bible 
reading.”  Both  had  seen  and  heard  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  wonderful  Book. 

Homage  to  Followers  of  the  Bible 

A  missionary  in  Changchow,  China,  wrote 
us  a  year  or  more  ago,  “  The  people  gener¬ 
ally  feel  that  Christianity  stands  for  truth, 
righteousness,  liberty,  and  every  kind  of  le¬ 
gitimate  prosperity.”  From  many  lands  we 
might  bring  instances  of  a  sort  of  homage 
paid  by  the  common  people  to  one  who  follows 
the  Bible.  For  instance,  the  Rev.  F.  S.  Pen- 
zotti,  Agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society, 
tried  in  vain  to  sell  Scriptures  on  a  steamer 
sailing  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  Central 
America.  But  as  he  was  about  to  land  at  San 
Jose,  Guatemala,  a  stranger,  one  of  the  pas¬ 
sengers,  said  to  him  :  “You  are  the  only  one 

13 


on  board  whom  I  can  trust.  Please  take  this 
money  ($200  in  gold)  ashore  with  you,  since 
there  is  no  time  for  me  to  go  out  and  back. 
It  is  to  go  to  my  family  at - .” 

These  instances  from  the  experience  of  the 
Bible  Society  relate  to  individuals  in  widely 
separated  lands.  But  it  is  through  changing 
the  ideas  of  single  individuals  that  the  Bible 
lifts  nations  in  the  social  scale.  From  the 
Bible  the  poor  and  the  oppressed  learn  man¬ 
hood,  its  potencies,  and  its  birthright  of  no¬ 
bility. 


The  Sociological  Changes  in  Asia 

Commerce  is  a  powerful  agent  of  civiliza¬ 
tion.  Through  the  hope  of  personal  gain  it 
brings  friendly  intercourse  into  the  place  for¬ 
merly  held  by  hostility  to  strangers.  So  far 
it  testifies  in  favor  of  the  social  law  of  the 
universe — the  law  of  brotherly  love.  But 
when  one  observes  the  great  fields  of  mission¬ 
ary  effort  in  Asia,  where  the  Bible  has  been  • 
circulated,  and  translated  into  action,  and  ex¬ 
pounded  in  the  pulpit  for  scores  of  years  in 
many  languages,  and  when  one  notes  large 
masses  of  the  despised  common  people  rising 
to  manly  participation  in  national  affairs,  as 
in  India,  or  insisting  on  justice  and  fraternity, 
as  in  Turkey  and  Persia,  or  struggling  even 
when  submerged  in  poverty  to  learn  the  se¬ 
cret  of  manhood,  as  in  China,  one  can  recog¬ 
nize  natural  fruits  of  Bible  influence.  Dr.  J. 

S.  Dennis’  “  Christian  Missions  and  Social 
Progress  ”  offers,  to  any  who  will  take  time 
to  read,  enormous  detail  of  the  fruits  of  Bible 
teaching  upon  such  peoples  once  sunk  in  ig¬ 
norance  and  superstition.  The  record  justi- 

14 


fies  our  claim  that  the  Bible  is  the  social  force 
which  all  need. 

Weighty  Testimony 

Chancellor  Frelinghuysen,  when  President 
of  the  American  Bible  Society  years  ago,  de¬ 
scribed  the  influence  of  the  Book  in  our  own 
land.  “  No  department  of  commerce,”  he 
said,  “no  relation  of  friendship,  no  claim 
of  benevolence,  but  will  find  in  the  Bible  its 
law  clearly  written  and  forcibly  enjoined. 
Every  plea  that  can  arouse  conscience  and 
every  hope  that  can  cheer  and  elevate  the 
soul  has  a  record  in  the  Bible ;  a  system  of 
truths,  precepts,  and  duties  pure  and  exalted 
as  the  Spirit  who  gave  them,  ranging  over 
every  department  of  human  life  and  action, 
and  turning  to  the  inner  man,  requiring  purity, 
uprightness,  and  kindness  there.”  Wu  Ting- 
fang,  the  Chinese  statesman,  in  his  book  on 
America  shows  himself  a  clear-headed  friend 
of  the  movement  for  individual  betterment 
when  he  said,  “  The  greater  the  number  of 
good  men  a  nation  possesses  the  greater  she 
becomes.”  The  Rev.  W.  H.  Elvin,  who  has 
been  teaching  the  Bible  to  Chinese  students 
in  Japan,  shows  what  is  its  power  when  he 
says,  If  I  had  been  working  among  the  stu¬ 
dents  without  assurance  that  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  is  the  Word  of  God,  what  I  have  seen 
among  the  students  would  be  overwhelming 
proof.”  Professor  von  Dobschutz,  of  Halle, 
who  lectured  in  1913  at  Harvard,  adds  his 
witness  to  the  place  of  the  Bible  in  civiliza¬ 
tion.  “Making  men  devout,”  he  says,  “it 
makes  them  strong  and  influential  in  the  com¬ 
mon  effort  to  promote  civilization  by  remov- 

15 


ing  everything  which  is  contrary  to  the  wel¬ 
fare  of  others.” 

Seed  Sowing  Slow  but  Necessary 

The  scattering  of  the  truths  of  the  word 
among  men  our  Saviour  likened  to  the  sow¬ 
ing  of  seed.  It  is  a  slow  process.  It  seems 
wasteful  when  we  perceive  the  various  mis¬ 
chances  which  bring  to  naught  the  sower’s 
toil.  But  there  is  always  some  good  soil 
which  welcomes  its  portion  of  seed  and  gives 
back,  thirty,  sixty,  or  a  hundred-fold.  In 
every  race  of  men,  east,  west,  north,  and 
south,  some  are  found  prepared  to  receive  the 
Bible  and  yield  its  fruits  in  due  season. 
Everywhere  communities  are  being  lifted  into 
unity  of  aspiration  and  knit  together  in  one 
great  purpose  through  the  work  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  souls  that  adopt  Bible  rules  of 
devotion  to  God  and  fellowship  with  each 
other.  Everywhere  such  communities  are 
leavening  their  environment  with  knowledge 
of  this  wonderful  social  and  spiritual  force. 
Everywhere  the  Book  is  a  light  for  to-day 
upon  the  path  to  manhood  and  peace,  and  a 
guide  for  the  unknown  to-morrow  to  the  life 
that  cannot  end.  These  truths  urge  us  to 
cling  to  this  blessed  Bible,  that  we  lose  not 
the  key  to  our  own  national  solidarity.  The 
whole  spirit  of  Bible  teaching,  also,  compels 
us  to  win  for  this  Book  the  attention  of 
our  brothers  who  know  not  its  message  for 
them.  Whatever  we  must  set  aside  as  beyond 
our  means,  increase  of  the  circulation  of  the 
Bible,  in  this  land  and  all  other  lands,  we  may 
not  cut  out  of  the  list  of  necessities  for  which 
liberal  provision  must  be  made. 

12, 1914;  10m.  16 


